Laura Ortiz, Registered Nurse at Casa Colina, adjust the over head lights for the operating table in the new operating room, during a tour of the new Casa Colina Hospital Medical Surgical Wing, at Casa Colina in Pomona, CA., Friday, April 1, 2016. Casa Colina recently received an authorization from the state late Wednesday to begin using the newly built facility. (Photo by James Carbone for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

Shawna Sharp, Chief Nursing Officer for Casa Colina, demonstrates the "Mechanical Patient system" in the new Intensive Care room, during a tour of the new Casa Colina Hospital Medical Surgical Wing, at Casa Colina in Pomona, CA., Friday, April 1, 2016. Casa Colina recently received an authorization from the state late Wednesday to begin using the newly built facility. (Photo by James Carbone for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

The $45 million facility will make it possible to provide a wide range of orthopedic, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, urology and other procedures, according to a statement from the facility.

Among the resources at physicians’ disposal will be equipment to conduct minimally invasive robotic surgery that will facilitate orthopedic and joint replacement procedures.

The wing’s three surgical suites are furnished with equipment that will allow surgeons to consult with colleagues in other locations in real time during complex procedures should it become necessary.

“Clinicians will have all those tools to treat potential patients,” said Felice Loverso, Casa Colina president and chief executive officer.

In addition to the surgical suites, the new wing has a six-bed intensive care unit and 25 private medical/surgical rooms with private bathrooms and equipped with special lifts to facilitate moving patients.

By the end of Friday the wing was expected to have four to five patients and the first surgical procedure was scheduled to be performed Thursday, Loverso said. The wing is expected to be full by month’s end.

The new wing finishes an expansion that took years to complete, much of it during the last nine years, he said.

But that’s not the end of construction.

Plans are in the works to add what will be a 24- to 32-bed skilled nursing facility, Loverso said.

In addition, some services will be moved off the 20-acre campus in order to make way for additional services, he said.

Some may see the expansion in services as competition for local hospitals in the region, but that is not the case.

“We are clearly going to be more of a specialty hospital,” Loverso said.

Casa Colina has established a partnership with UCLA and plans to partner with other institutions, which will allow highly specialized medical personnel to come to Casa Colina and provide services in Pomona, reducing the need for patients to travel outside of the area, Loverso said.

Casa Colina is now in a position to not only provide top-notch specialized care, but also to grow educational and research components, he said.

All this comes shortly after Casa Colina was ranked the 13th largest rehabilitation provider in the nation by Modern Healthcare.

“What we need are partners for us to better treat patients in our community,” he said.

The opening of the new wing is a step that will make it possible to bring additional services to the region for many years to come, according to a statement from Steve Norin, chairman of Casa Colina’s board of directors.

“From the board’s perspective, we are excited and honored to be part of an organization that does such wonderful things for our community and beyond,” he said in the statement. “Casa Colina’s medical surgical bed expansion will serve people in our community for decades. Thanks to the fantastic clinical staff and the great job they do treating patients every day, the board looks forward to seeing the same level of clinical excellence expanded into our new hospital wing. We are eager to continue this path of growth to broaden the services we provide our community.”

Pomona’s Chamber of Commerce also had praise for the medical institution.

“Casa Colina is a tremendous asset to the city of Pomona,” wrote Jill Dolan, past president of the chamber and its vice president of public relations, in an email. “We applaud this latest expansion and its ongoing commitment to providing valuable and vital services to the region.”

Casa Colina, 255 E. Bonita Ave., is inviting the public to attend one of its grand-opening events this month. Among the activities are a free community luncheon and tour from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 12.

Tours of the new facility are scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. April 19 and 26. The tours will be given every 30 minutes.

Those interested in attending any of these events are asked to RSVP by emailing events@casacolina.org or calling 909-596-7733, Ext. 2222.

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